Door operator



F- J- WARNER DOOR OPERATOR April 22, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec.18, 1947 April 22, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 18, 1947 April 22,1952 J WARNER 2,593,710

DOOR OPERATOR Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES OFFICE ApplicationDecember 18, 1947, Serial No. 792,495

In Great Britain October 16, 1944 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8,1946 Patent expires October 16, 1964 This invention is for improvementsin and applicable to doors and has'particular reference to ventilationdoors in coal mines. It is well known that it is customary'in coal minesto provide hinged doors which must normally be maintained closed forventilation purposes; at intervals pit tubs have to pass through suchdoors, and according to customary practice the opening and closing ofthese doors is controlled by an operator. An object of this invention isto dispense with the service of an operator for each door and to providemeans whereby the tubs or the like themselves control the opening andclosing of the doors.

- According to this invention there is provided apparatus forautomatically operating hinged doors normally disposed in the path ofrolling stock such as pit tubs, comprising a lever devicepivoted-intermediate its ends, one of said ends being normally disposedin the path of tubs approaching the door and also arranged to overlapthe door when the door is fully open, and means connecting the other endof said lever device to the door at'a position on said door remote fromthe hinge thereof.

It will be appreciated that by this arrangement tubs approaching thedoors make contact with and actuate said lever automatically to open thedoor, and when the door is fully open the lever overlaps the door; thisensures that when the tubs reach the free end of the open door said dooris out of line of the movement of the tubs. Preferably the lever isconnected to the door by a rigid link or connecting rod.

The hinged door may have connected with it an additional hinged door insuch manner that the two doors together constitute double doors and theinvention therefore also provides apparatus for automatically operatingdouble hinged doors normally disposed in the path of rolling stock suchas pit tubs, comprising a lever device pivoted intermediate its ends oneof said ends being normally disposed in the path of tubs'approaching thedoors and arranged to overlap one of the doors when said door is fullyopen, means for connecting the other end of said lever device to saiddoor at a position on the door remote from the hinge thereof and meansconnecting the two doors for simultaneous operation.

Means may also be provided for causing the single door or the doubledoors to be opened by a tub travelling'in either of two directions;

The invention therefore further provides apparatus for automaticallyoperating hinged doors normally disposed in the path of rolling stockscams. 268-36) such as pit tubs, comprising a lever device pivotedintermediate its ends one of said ends being normally disposed in thepath of tubs approach ing the doors in one direction and arranged tooverlap the door when the door is fully open, means connecting the otherend of said lever device to the door at a location on said door remotefrom the hinge thereof and means for transmitting motion to the doorfrom a tub travelling in the opposite direction.

In order that the nature of the invention may be more readilyunderstood, a particular embodiment will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational View.

- FigureZisaplan View. v

Figures 3 and 4 are detail views on an enlarged scale.

Figure 5 is a plan view of a modification. The door i which may be ofwood or other suitable material is provided with a fixed front plate 2and back plate 3 and is hung on hinges 4 and 4a door jambs are providedat 5. The door frame is not set vertical but slopes backwardly, asuitable angle of slope being indicated at Y in Figure 1 and fromFigures 1 and 2 it will be seen that the lower hinge 4a is set outwardlyfurther from the frame than the upper hinge l. Extending from the frontplate 2 is a lug 6, and said lug and the bifurcated head I of anadjustment screw 8 are transfixed by a pin 9. This adjustment screw isreceived in one end of a link or connecting rod It] the other end ofwhich is pivotally connected at Hi to a lever H fulcrumed at I2; thefunction of the screw 8 is to vary the effective length of the link l8.Fulcrum pin I2 which is preferably formed with oil grooves (not shown)is fixed such as by screw thread and split pin in a stirrup l2a rivetedto a mild steel plate I222 secured by rag bolts (not shown) on the upperplain surface of a concrete foundation it. The lever II is convenientlyformed by riveting or welding two lengths of angle iron together and isformed with a boss Ila for the reception of pin l2. The end l5 of suchlever remote from the pivot i4 is curved and tapered as shown and isnormally disposed midway in the track it along which the tubs ll traveland approximately midway in the height of the tub bodies. On the back ofthe door is mounted a bumper I8 (Figure 2) preferably of spring steel;the height of this bumper is determined by the height of the tubs whichare to pass through the door.

It will be seen from Figures 3 and 4 that the lug 6 is-of taperedconfiguration; the pin 9 is a comparatively loose fit in the bifurcatedhead "i so that the link I9 and lug B are capable of slight movement ina vertical plane relatively to one another. Grooves are formed in thedoor sill for the accommodation of the rails I5 and haulage rope I9 sothat the door is a good fit when closed.

The manner of operation is as follows: As a tub approaches the door itengages the end E5 of lever II and rotates the latter about its fulcrumI2 with the result that through the .intermediary of link ID the door .Iis opened and is moved through approximately 90 by the-time the end ofthe tub has moved past" theend of the lever.

The arrangement and dispositionaofthe parts is such that the curved endof the lever overlaps and bears upon the endof the door remotefrom itshinges when the door is opened, as is clearly shown. in chain linesin-Figure 2. As the tub continuesin its travel the curved end leof thelever rides along the near side of the tub thus holding the door openandsuch side of the tub then rubs along the bumper I8 after riding offthe end of the lever. The door is thus maintained fully opened until thetub (or the last tub if a line of tubs is being hauled) has passedthrough'the door, when the door automatically swings back to the closedposition. At the same time the lever is restored to its startingpositiona'nd in this manner as successive tubs or lines'o'f tubsapproach the door the door is automatically opened to allow the passagethereof and immediately afterwards the door automatically closes.

It will be appreciated that as thesdoor is' being opened th'erewould bea risk of it fouling the haulage rope I9 if the door did not rise and itis for this reasonthat the frame is setback andthe hinges are disposedas described. Furthermore' consequent upon this rise of the doorin'open'ingi it is necessary to allow for relative movement between linkI and lug 6' and it is for this reason that the lug is tapered andfitted in" themanner described.

Inthe construction shown in Figure an additional hinged door 20 isprovided associated with the door I (hereinafter referred to as the maindoor) to provide double doors. These double doors are providedtransversely across the track IB'in such manner that their hinges 4, ea,2I, 2Ia, are located outside the track and their free ends 22, 23 meetat a location substantially centrally between the rails of the track. Inthe closed position the two doors I, 28 are substantially in alignment.The main door i is constructed and arranged as above described insodoor20. For this purpose the link 24 is disposed at the rear of the doorsand its innermost end 25 is pivotally connected to a comparatively smallbracket 26 fixed to the main door at the upper end thereof and locatedsubstantially centrally of its Width.

the-additional door at its upper end. It will be understood fromconsideration of this arrangement that when the tub I? approaches thefront of the doors it automatically opens the main door I as previouslydescribed and this opening movement of the main door is imparted by thelink 24 connecting the two doors to' the additional door 23 in suchmanner as to cause this additional .door to open simultaneously withmuch as it is connected by the rigid link iii (which is disposed infront of the door and is adjustable for length as previously described)to one end Id of the double armed lever H (also disposed at the front ofthe door) and the other end I5 of which is located in the path of anapproaching tub I! or the like, the arrangement being such that theapproaching tub i! engages the lever II to open the said main door I and7 the main door. The connecting link. 24 is preferably adjustable: forlength by being provided in two parts 24. Z ta, which have a-screwthreaded engagement with each other; by this means the extent to whichthe additional door 20 opens may be adjusted to ensureth'at it is out oflineof the passingtub when the door 20 is in its fully open position. Itis-also to be understood that the link 24 connecting the two doors islocated at such a height that when the doors are open the tubs passbeneath it without touching it. A suitable stop 29 may be providedwithwhich the additional door 20. may engage when fully open, and abumperguard 3G is preferablyprovided. ontherear face of thedoor 20 as aprotection against the door being. damaged by a passing tub.

Thearrangementabove described or the arrangement shown in Figures .1 to4 is readily adaptable for a double roadhaulage system, that is to saywherein tubs or the like may travel along the track in either of twoopposite. directions, and by way of example'a double-track system isshown in Figure5 as appliedto double doors. It has already beendescribed how the doors may be opened by a tub approaching the front ofthe doors and in order to cause the necessary opening movement of thedoors automatically when a tub approaches the rear. of the doors (i. e.in the opposite direction) an additional double armed lever 3| isprovided located at'the rear of the doors and its free end 32 isdisposed in the path of atub 33 approaching from the rear; its other end34 is connected by an adjustable link to the first mentioned double armlever H located at the front of the doors and the arrangement istherefore such that when a tub 33 approaches the rear of the doors itrocks the additional double armed lever 3| which through the medium ofthexsaid adjustable link 35 rocks the first mentioned lever II to openthe doors in the manner previously described.

If desired there may be provided one or more springs to assist inclosing the doors, e. g. there may be a leaf spring 36 fixed in such aposition as to be flexed by the mainv door at the end of its openingmovement and said spring being then so flexed as to impart an initialclosing movement to the doors when a tub has passed.

If desired also any or all of the adjustable links, and particularly thelink- I 0 connecting the main door I to its operating lever ll may havea shock absorbing device incorporated in it, e. g. a coil spring 31 maybe provided'at the junction of the two parts 8 and I0 forming the link.

Each or any of. the levers II, 3|, may carry at its free end a roller orball which partly projects so as to constitute a bearing surface forengagement by approaching tubs.

I claim:

1. A device'for automatically opening a door pivotally mounted formovement over a path having a center line which passesbeneath'a centralportion of the door frame in which the door is mounted, comprising, incombination, an elongated lever having one end portion pivotally mountedfor movement over the path and located ahead of the door, said one endportion of said lever being movable between a first position when thedoor is closed and a second position when the door is fully opened; andlink means having one end portion pivotally connected to said lever andanother end portion pivotally con: nected to the door, said other endportion of said link means being movable between a first position whenthe door is closed and a second position when the door is fully opened,and said second position of said other end portion of said link meansbeing located at a greater distance from the center line of the paththan said second position of said one end portion of said lever.

2. A device for automatically opening a door pivotally mounted adjacenta vertical edge thereof for substantially horizontal swinging movementover a path leading through the door, comprising, in combination, alever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at a point locatedadjacent to the path and ahead of the door, said lever having a firstportion extending from the pivotal mounting thereof to a point locatedover the path and having a second portion extending from the pivotalmounting thereof in a direction away from the path, said first portionof said lever being longer than the difference between the width of thedoor and the distance between said pivotal mounting of said lever andthe pivotal mounting of the door; and a link pivotally connected at oneend portion thereof to said second portion of said lever and at theother end portion thereof to said door, whereby when said first portionof said lever is actuated to move the door to its fully open position,said first portion of said lever overlaps said door.

3. A device for automatically opening a door pivotally mounted adjacenta vertical edge thereof for substantially horizontal swinging movementover a path leading through the door, comprising, in combination, alever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at a point locatedadjacent to the path and ahead of the door, said lever having a firstportion extending from the pivotal mounting thereof to a point locatedover thepath and having a second portion extending from the pivotalmounting thereof in a direction away from the path, said first portionof said lever being longer than the difference between the width of thedoor and the distance between said pivotal mounting of said lever andthe pivotal mounting of the door; and a link pivotally connected at oneend portion thereof to said second portion of said lever and at theother end portion thereof to said door, whereby when said first portionof said lever is actuated to move the door to its fully'open position,said first portion of said lever overlaps said door and is locatedbetween the door and path so that the door cannot move toward the pathuntil the object actuating the lever is out of contact with said firstportion thereon 4. A device for automatically opening a door pivotallymounted adjacent a vertical edge thereoffor substantially horizontalswinging movement over a path leading through the door, comprising, incombination, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at a pointlocated adjacent to the path and ahead of the door, saidlever having afirst portion extending from the pivotal mounting thereof to a pointlocated over the path and which is located above said path by a distanceapproximating one half of the height of the door and saidlever having asecond portion extending from the pivotal mounting thereof in adirection away from the path, said first portion of said lever beinglonger than the difference between the width of the door and thedistance between said pivotal mounting of said lever and the pivotalmounting of the door; and a link pivotally connected at one end portionthereof to said second portion of said lever and at the other endportion thereof to said door, whereby when said first portion of saidlever is actuated to movethe door to its fully open position, said firstportion of said lever overlaps said door and is located between the doorand path so that the door cannotgmove toward the path until the objectactuating the lever is out of contact with said first portion thereof.

5. A device for automatically opening a door pivotally mounted adjacenta vertical edge thereof for substantially horizontal swinging movementover a path leading through the door, comprising, in combination, alever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at a point locatedadjacent to the path and ahead of the door on one side thereof, saidlever having a first portion extending from the pivotal mounting thereofto a point located over the path and which is located above said path bya distance approximating one half of the height of the door and saidlever having a second portion extending from the pivotal mountingthereof in a direction away from the path, said first portion of saidlever being longer than the difference between the width of the door andthe distance between said pivotal mounting of said lever and the pivotalmounting of the door; a link pivotally connected at one end portionthereof to said second portion of said lever and at the other endportion thereof to said door, whereby when said first portion of saidlever is actuated to move the door to its fully open position, saidfirst portion of said lever overlaps said door and is located betweenthe door and path so that the door cannot move toward the path until theobject actuating the lever is out of contact with said first portionthereof; and means located on the other side of the door and operativelyconnected to said lever for actuating the same when an object approachesthe door from the other side thereof.

6. A device for automatically opening a pair of doors each pivotallymounted adjacent a vertical edge thereof for substantially horizontalswinging movement over a path leading through the door, comprising, incombination, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at a pointlocated adjacent to the path, said lever, having a first portionextending from the pivotal mountin thereof to a point located over thepath and having a second portion extending from the pivotal mountingthereof in a direction away from the path, said first portion of saidlever being longer than the difference between the width of one of

